


Waves & Wonders

by sailortwilightt



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Also a bunch of bullshit, And aquamarine, Big brother Shiro, Fluff, M/M, MERMAID LORE, Merboys, Mermaid Magic, Mermaids, SUFFER WITH ME, Shiro needs a vacation, Smushed together, The little mermaid - Freeform, Voltron, Wiggly eyebrows, a siren develops feels, also gay, its like, klance, merboy becomes human, mermaid au, miss me with that straight shit, oh no, space dad found vacationing in Miami, whoopsie
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-29
Updated: 2017-07-16
Packaged: 2018-09-20 16:15:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9499736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sailortwilightt/pseuds/sailortwilightt
Summary: Merboy Klance auHuman anthropologist Lance is a merboy living in his ocean collecting his human doodads. He wants to go to the surface but because he's a Good Boy™, he remains down under, collecting doodads from fallen ships.Grumpy Boy™ Keith finds himself going on a vacation with Shiro and after a freak storm, starts seeing glittery shadows in the dirty pool from his hotel room. What happens when he finds a very attractive sea creature that's just as interested into him?Warning: Will contain sexual themes





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to my first klance Voltron fic. I have no life

“Takashi Shirogane.” The woman on the other side of the reception desk nodded and she typed into the computer. She gathered a map and some key cards, setting them over the counter. 

“I’ve provided two key cards, will that be okay?” Shiro nodded and she showed them to their room. Sixth floor, a two suite deluxe hotel room with a view of the pool, the sandy beach and crystal blue water. 

“Keith, stop grumbling. It’s spring break and you know that we both need this vacation.” Shiro put down their bags in the living room as Keith wandered into his room, towards the window. Keith was always very hesitant on traveling but being convinced to go on this vacation trip by Shiro, here he was. 

The sun was setting on the horizon of the sea and made the sea colored orange. Maybe he should go for a walk. Yeah, that sounded like a good idea.

\------

“Hey Pidge, have you seen Lance?” The larger male was holding a tin bowl and stirring something inside it with a spoon made out of bone.

“Lance is going to kill you if he finds out that you're using his stuff, Hunk.” Pidge turned to glance at him and Hunk flushed slightly, hiding the bowl behind his back. 

“I know! It's just that… Sea turtle bowls are rough and there's always residue that comes with it, and this bowl is so smooth..” He mumbled. Pidge shook her head. 

“At least tell me that's the spoon I smoothed out with whale lard and set out to dry. If he finds a scratch that wasn't an original, he's going to flip.” Hunk nodded quickly, pulling out the spoon. 

“It is, it is!” Pidge hummed and turned back to her experiment, a makeshift catapult made up of various things. 

“He's probably cooped up in a treasures cave, like always. Try looking there.” 

“I should have guessed. Alright, thanks Pidge.” Hunk continued stirring in his bowl, swimming back to his home. The swim to his place from Pidge’s was just in the next cave, so Lance’s little sister was waiting for him outside. “He’s in his treasure cave.” The little girl shook her head. 

“Mama y papa always think it’s so weird for Lance to collect his ‘tesoros’. I always tell him that it’s weird, but he never listens. But okay, gracias Hunk!” She waved energetically as she swam a couple caves to her home cave. 

“Looks like Lance is going to get scolded again.” Hunk hummed to himself and went into his cave. 

Several kilometers away, a merboy was playing in his treasure cave. The cave was secluded and tall, so tall that it had an above water entrance, that the other mermaids had the cave marked uninhabitable. Uninhabitable since there was the possibility that a human could access it. That didn’t scare Lance though. 

What the merpeople didn’t know was that the above water entrance was covered by a wall of vines, moss and seaweed that made the cave look like just a boulder in the water with teeming sea life growing on it. Lance took this opportunity to claim this cave as his own, bringing his little collection from home, here.

Mama wasn’t fond of his hobby. “Ay mijo,” his mother would sigh. “You’ve went out and found another… tesoro. You know how papa feels about this.” Lance was seven at the time, living as a single child with a pod of other new families. Papa wasn’t accepting of the hobby. 

“Pero mama, look how cool this is.” Lance pulled on the whale leather bag that was hanging on his shoulder, reaching into it and pulling out a plastic see through bag. “I think this is plastic! You know, like the same thing those rings that sometimes get stuck on our tails and hands? I found this floating and I tried to bring it down several times but couldn’t! It looks like there’s air inside or something. And, and, I put a rock in it, and the rock is dry.” Lance’s tail twitched as excitingly as he looked at the small pebble that was in the small bag. 

“Lance, mi amor…” His mama brought the small boy up into her arms, Lance’s long cobalt blue tail wrapping around his mother’s garnet tail lovingly. “I know you like collecting your tesoros and all, pero you know your father doesn’t like you collecting this stuff. It’s a risk on your life and a danger to ours.” She spoke in a soft tone, brushing his hair out of his eyes. Lance took in her words, looking down. 

“Is… Is that why we had to leave our pod from the other cove?” Lance held his plastic bag, the plastic pouting where his fingers were pressing into it. 

“As a siren, your physical appearance and vocal abilities attract attention. It is a lovely blessing, mijo, and a human child was lured close to the pod. It’s not your fault, of course. The pod was recently new and they had no idea how to deal with humans, much less a siren.” She kissed his forehead gently. “We just didn’t belong there. We didn’t leave because of you. Papa just wants you to be safe.” Lance’s gills fluttered warmly, looking up at his mama. 

“So, can I keep it?” He asked softly. She stared at him, a small frown on her face, until she sighed and a smile broke through. 

“Esta bien, you can keep it. Just don’t let papa see it, okay?” Lance nodded happily and pecked his mom, swimming to his room. Papa wasn’t accepting, but Mama would do anything for her little boy to be happy. 

It wasn’t until two coves, three pods, a pair of twins and two more siblings later, that Lance and his family found themselves in this cove, with new, more accepting friends and an awesome cave that was just for his treasures. 

Lance was eighteen now and his collection had grown far much more than he had anticipated eleven years ago. His treasures were all held underwater but only some of his treasures were accessible on land. For example, his books. Lance had a small library going on, a couple of ads, children’s books. Humans were very careless and dirty people, so he had loads of plastic bags (he found out they were called Ziplock bags!) to keep his books dry underwater. 

His favorite books by far had to be Pinocchio and The Little Mermaid. Ironically enough, The Little Mermaid was his first find. Well, maybe it wasn’t a find, but he picked it off of a docked ship. The story filled his mind up with imagination, wishes and magic. His readings and his collection led him to one question that has been haunting him for the past eleven years. 

Can mermaids become humans? In The Little Mermaid, the sea witch Ursula gave the mermaid Ariel the chance to become a human to see Prince Eric. In exchange for human legs, she had to give up her voice. Does magic like that even exist? 

While Lance and his family were hermits, traveling for a new pod and cove to settle into, he would ask questions. If magic like that actually existed. Most people would just laugh at him, but there were two pods before they met the pod they’re in now, that gave him an interesting story. 

There was a mermaid once, a siren like him. She had beautiful dark skin, long, flowy white hair, and a rose pink tail. As a siren, she was always very popular and attracted all kinds of people. Many tried to find a suitor for her, but what the merpeople didn’t know was that she wasn’t interested in merpeople at all. The mermaid had set her heart for a human. The story goes that she managed to access some sort of magic that made her human forever. The cost of her becoming human however, cost the memories of her pod and all merpeople that knew her. 

Most say that it’s only a legend and that nobody has that sort of magic, to become human. It’s just a tale passed around pods. Lance, on the other hand, believed it more to be a legend. If it cost her the memory of all people that knew her and her pod, of course people would think it’s legend. 

Lance was above water, reading his Little Mermaid book for the umpteenth time on the dry floor of his cave, when his ears caught the sonar callings of his friend coming. Lance was quick to put his book back into it’s bag and squeezed the air out, protecting it just in time as the dolphin splashed out of the water beside him. 

“Hey Blue.” The dolphin clicked at him and Lance smiled, patting it’s snout lovingly. “Pidge and Hunk are coming?” The dolphin nodded and Lance dove into the water, greeting his friends at the underwater entrance of the cave. 

“Lance, you’re still here?” Hunk quickly hid something behind his back, making Lance roll his eyes. 

“I know what you’re hiding, Hunk. Don’t think I didn’t notice a shiny silver bowl missing from my kitchen collection.” 

“I told you so.” Pidge laughed and Hunk mumbled, Lance motioning for him to put it back in it’s appropriate spot. 

“I’m sorry, it’s just that it’s a non-stick bowl, how often do you come around that?” 

The good thing about this cove and it’s pod was that Lance found more accepting friends. People that weren’t his friends simply because of his appearance. People who weren’t his friends because of his vocal talent. People who didn’t judge him based on his likes and dreams. If anything, Pidge and Hunk were tolerant, and even helped Lance collect treasures. It was why they’ve stayed with this cove and pod. 

Pidge was a smaller mermaid, two years younger than Lance, with mint green tail that glittered holographically. Her light brown hair was cut short now and tied back with a hair band that Lance had found. Not to mention that she was as blind as a bat, but with a little bit of help from Hunk and Lance, they were able to make her some glasses. That lead to finding a cord that she could tie her hair up with and hold her glasses to her face. 

Hunk was a larger merboy, a year and couple months older, a marigold colored tail with shone with specs of copper and red. He wears a yellow headband around his forehead to hold away the hair from his face. He didn’t really care about Lance’s collection until Lance started to find cookware and that’s when he was really interested. Hunk also helped Lance make some shelves out of the cave walls. 

“One of the twins came looking for you.” Lance looked down towards the other two were were settled towards the bottom of the cave, playing with Blue. 

“Was it Cinthia or Carlos?” He fixed the bowl that Hunk had incorrectly placed and went to join them down below. 

“Cinthia.” Lance sighed in relief. 

“If it had been Carlos, he would have told mama that I was here.” Pidge snickered.

“I’m pretty sure she knows that you’re here.” Lance rolled his eyes. 

“Okay, yeah, whatever, but, Cinthia doesn’t mention it because then Marie and Ivan always want to come too. Carlos always likes to stir up trouble because he wants dad to scold me.” Hunk chuckled. 

“That’s Carlos for you.” Lance mock punched Hunk. 

“It’s not funny.” He let out a huff, holding his arms out to Blue. Blue went to him and Lance petted him lovingly. “We should probably start heading home. I’m sure dinner is prepared and that’s why you’re bringing me back my bowl.” 

“If you go looking, I promise you won’t find any scratches on the bowl. How careless do you think I am?” Lance narrowed his eyes teasingly, the three and Blue starting to head out. 

Dinner was made for the whole pod, but each family ate on their own if they wanted to. Lance and his family tended to eat all together within their home, the children sharing stories from school or papa from his travels. 

“Hey papa, you’ve heard a lot of stories when you travel, right?” Marie, a seven year old violet curiosity, asked. His father, a sapphire blue, nodded. “Have you heard about the human mermaid legend?” Immediately, his head snapped to Lance and Lance’s eyes widened as he shook his head silently. 

“Ah, why do you ask, mi amor?” The twins giggled, shooting glances at Lance and his mother shushed them. 

“Well, I was at school today and there were some girls talking about this legend that a mermaid turned into a human.” Lance looked at his sister admiringly. He was never able to ask his father about it because he knew he could get butchered alive, but that little girl was his baby and he would never scold her. “Is it true?” Their father chuckled. 

“It’s called a legend for a reason, mijita. Popular, but not authentic.” Lance always heard the same thing every time they moved, but hearing it from his own father kind of… hurt. 

Dinner was continued with minor conversation, no more mention of magic, much to Lance’s dismay, but also relief. After dinner was over and all the children were put to bed, Lance went up to his favorite part of the surface. A little alcove on the other side of his cave, that faced the beach. Where he could see the pier, the sandy beach and the shining lights of buildings. Leaning against the wall, with his tail dipped in the water, he began to sing a melancholic song.

\---

The beach was a lot emptier and cooler around nighttime. There was a soft breeze that came from the ocean, blowing away the smells of burning fuels and smoke, and instead bringing the sweet smell of the sea. Keith looked down at the sandy beach. He hadn’t planned to walk along the shore, but here he was, taking off his shoes and dipping his toes into the still warm sand.

His feet sunk and the sand crunched ever so softly under him as he made his way to the shore. Keith continued to walk forward, past the high tide line of seaweed until his toes were met with the cold water. 

Keith looked up at the skies. There were clouds that flew with the wind, but he was still able to see the moon’s light reflected from the ocean. His eyes slowly closed and he started to listen to his surroundings. The sound of the seagulls flying above him, their distant calls. The sound of the distant waves and the water that broke around his feet. The sound of the wind blowing past his ears and moving the trees behind him. 

And that’s when he heard it. A song that glided over the water, with the wind and to his ears. A soft melody that made his heart churn. He opened his eyes and looked towards where the song was coming from, but he couldn’t see anything. Just the sound of a sweet voice, that called out to him. 

Entranced by the voice, he walked along the shore towards the direction of where the voice was coming from and sat, listening to the song. He listened to everything around him and the voice altogether; how it all fit so perfectly and how he wanted to meet the song, but it was out at sea. Far out at sea and he… Well, he couldn’t swim. 

Keith sat on the sand, listening to the song with his eyes closed, until he was startled by a distant rumble. The song abruptly stops and in the distance, a flash of lightning was seen. After that, the song didn’t pick up again.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So we all saw season two of Voltron and we all saw episode two where we find out that Lance is a total water boi. We saw mermaids but okok... Lance as a mermaid. 
> 
> @Lynn1998 is a really cool, super duper awesome friend of mine who has AMAZING art and they made Mermaid!Lance, which inspired me to write my ever first Voltron fic. Why am I mentioning this??
> 
> Bc I have a link to Lance's look here! https://twitter.com/LynnerKArt/status/823586785418625024  
> https://twitter.com/LynnerKArt/status/824019357743190016

A storm usually brought good things; new things hunt, new people to meet. Lance didn't care about any of that, only the thoughts of more treasures.

When Lance and his family were traveling, they passed by a shipwreck once. It was a few kilometers from where they stayed for the night, so of course, Lance went when his family was asleep. Most things in the ship were soiled or rusted, except for a couple rings and some silver coins.

Human fashion was always so appealing to Lance; the jewelry, the clothing. He imagined what it would be like a wear shirts and pants, but the material felt thick and heavy, making him afraid it would get caught on his scales. He once found a shirt, a tank top and he put it on, but it looked weird on him. The speckled scales on his shoulders cut into the material and his skin was overly sensitized by it.

“Save the clothes for when you become a human.” He always told himself. For when he became human… If he wished upon a star, would his dream come true? Would he become a human and meet his own Prince Eric? Or princess? Who knows.

The distant rumble of thunder snapped him out of a song and his head turned towards the thunderclouds. A gentle breeze blew towards him and he could smell the rain coming. He stayed in his alcove a while longer, casting his gaze towards the shore. From the dim lights provided minimal vision to the beach, but his eyes could make out a silhouette of a person.

Lance's heart fluttered in his chest. Was a human listening to his song? He watched as the human stood and looked out to sea, before turning and making the trek back to land. A human, listening to his song. Maybe if he got closer to the shore and sang, he could get a closer look at the-

“Hey Lance.” His gaze was torn away from the retreating human, to the mermaid who was propped up on the rock by her elbows, her fingers tracing figures into Lance's tail.

“Nyma! Uh, what are you doing here?” He took one final glance towards the shore, his eyes scanning for a figure but he could no longer found it.

“I heard you singing and I was so enraptured by the sound of your voice, I just had to come.” Lance sighed and looked at her. Her soft yellow skin glowed in what was left of the moon light, her flaxen blonde hair falling over her chest. Her pale blue tail glimmered in the water and she looked up at Lance admiringly.

“Siren to siren, you know our tricks don't work on each other.” Lance dove into the water and Nyma followed, giggling softly.

“Lance, I'm offended, are you saying that I don't have a good ear for music?” She pretended mock offense, holding her hand to her chest. Lance narrowed his gaze at her.

“Now, now, Nyma, you won't find another siren’s voice that can compare to _mine_.” Nyma chuckled amusingly.

“Oh really?” She crossed her arms against her chest, bringing her fingers to play with her hair mindlessly. “How so?” She asked. Lance ventured closer to Nyma, his fingers crossing over her hips.

“I guess you could say I perform some _oral magic_.” He shrugged slightly and looked at Nyma with a teasing glint and she swallowed it whole, bringing her hands to his chest.

“Oh my, Lance. What ever are you implying?” She batted her eyes and their tails started to curl around each other. Lance ran his webbed fingers through her hair, leaning close to her neck.

“That maybe, we should head back to my cave.”

* * *

“So when is the storm getting here?” Hunk asked. Pidge was scribbling into a parchment made from banana leaves with a stolen pencil from Lance. She looked between Blue and her own pet seahorse, Rover.

“Blue says it's a good thirty kilometers away and Rover determined that the wind speed is-”

“In English, Pidge.” Lance crossed his arms over his chest and she glared at him, sighing in defeat.

“The storm will probably be here in a few hours.” Pidge turned back to Rover, running her finger under its snout gently.

“You think my cave won’t be affected?” Lance asked, wrapping an arm around Blue as she clicked at him.

“Your cave will be fine, Lance. It’s not the first time that a storm has passed over this cove.” Hunk commented, taking a bite of a seaweed chip. Lance rolled his eyes and sighed.

“Yeah, well, I’m just worried. You never know what a storm may bring.” Pidge snorted.

“What, are you hoping for another shipwreck?” Lance pretended to be occupied with the dark cobalt colored webbing between his fingers.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Lance hummed busily. Pidge snickered and Hunk shook his head.

“Just because this storm is coming, doesn’t mean you’re going to stay out and witness it.” Hunk pointed a finger at him. “The underwater currents of a storm are not as dangerous as the waves of the storm, but you should still stay indoors.” Pidge rolled up her seaweed parchment, turning to the two.

“I’m gonna go tell the pod about the storm. Lance, Hunk isn’t scolding you, but you should listen what he has to say.” Pidge pointed her pencil at him, which Lance immediately noticed with a gasp and she tucked it into her hair.

“Hey, that’s-”

“Lance!” Lance pointed to Pidge’s retreating figure and Hunk smacked his hand. “Don’t change the subject.” Lance huffed and crossed his arms, his gills fluttering angrily.

“You guys always steal my things.” He mumbled.

“You have like, a load of pencils, I don’t know why you’re whining.” Hunk popped another chip into his mouth.

“That was the golden glitter one! It was my favorite!” Lance pouted.

“Lance.” He flinched at the sound of his name, his gills pressing against his temples. “Go and stay home. We all know how Mama gets when you’re not home before a storm.” Lance looked away, his fingers tapping on his arm until he sighed.

“Alright, fine. I guess I’ll go back home.” He mumbled. Hunk flashed him a smile and ruffled Lance’s hair. He scoffed and pushed Hunk’s hand away.

“We do it for your own good.” The two said at the same time, Lance saying in a more mocking tone. Hunk chuckled and started heading out towards the deeper sea.

“Hey, where are you going?” Lance asked, perking as he saw Hunk headed out.

“Ahiri’s supposed to be coming home today, I'll guide her towards the treasure cave, if you don't mind.”

“Oh, your manta ray.” Hunk nodded and Lance followed behind him.

The large, yellow tinged manta ray visited every week and after every storm. Storm brings about new things and although Lance's cave was safe from the storm, it wasn't safe from the treasure eating microscopic life. This visit war fortunately before the storm and she could remain safely within the cave. With Ahiri around, she will be able to eat the microbes and keep Lance's cave clean. Not to mention, she gives great hugs.

“Do you mind if I tag along?” Hunk looked back at Lance, past him and back at Lance.

“If you want.” Hunk shrugged. Lance considered going home, but the storm wasn't going to be for another couple hours and it's a fun being home with his annoying siblings.

“Yeah, wait up!” Lance called.

As they swam, they talked about random things; about Ahiri, about traveling around coves, Lance's siren skill and that lead to Lance's promiscuity. Lance steered the conversation to Hunk’s love life, since they didn't hear much about that.

Shay was a mermaid from not so neighboring cove that Hunk ended up rescuing. Hunk was traveling from his parental home cove with Ahiri and he found her trapped within a fishing net. She nearly blew Hunk away with her sonic scream, but after backing away significantly and reassuring her, he was able to save her.

It was kind of like a ‘love at first sight’ kind of thing, at least it was in Lance's opinion. Hunk didn't really believe that since they were strangers after all. It wasn't until after they had coincidental bump ins later that they started to pursue a relationship. Pidge says that it's all in Lance's head and that the human fairy tales are just that, tales. Conversations like these always ended with Lance being a puffer fish.

“When are you going to settle down?” Lance looked at Hunk incredulously.

“Me? Settle down?” Lance chortled. “Do you know who I am? I'm a siren, Hunk, a siren. Do you know how long it takes for a siren to ‘settle down’?” He made quotes with his fingers to emphasize.

“Well, what about Nyma? She seems interested.” Lance groaned. “What, don't think I didn't notice you two in my extra room making that music.” He nudged Lance with his elbow.

“Nyma, she's just… as promiscuous as me, if not more. She's a hermit, always traveling around, showing her face everywhere.” Lance waved Hunk’s elbow away. “You really think she would want to settle down?” Hunk hummed.

“You know, you're right. The house would be full of singing contests.”

“And clearly, I would I would win them all.” Lance beamed and Hunk laughed, starting to throw back a comment when the two were squished down by a large mass. They were pressed against the sand and they slowly sunk in, the two laughing at the sensation of fluttering flabs of wings on top of them.

“Ahiri! Welcome back, girl!” Hunk patted her roughly, but lovingly on her underside, beckoning her get off.

“I love the hugs but god, are you heavy.” Lance heaved, patting Ahiri weakly. The ray gave a soft coo as it got off the two of them, swimming around them. After a couple more pats, the three started heading to Lance's treasure cave.

“But going back to our conversation, Lance.” Hunk turned to the boy who was now munching on the seaweed chips. “You settling down, what's your type?” Lance snorted.

“My type? I don't even know what my type is. It probably doesn't exist?” Lance shrugged nonchalantly. “I don't have a rush to find my other half or whatever.”

“You aren't, by chance, waiting for your _human_ other half?” The raised eyebrow cast no judgment on Lance but he still felt the shame that came with the question. Was he? His human Prince or Princess Eric. When his wish upon a star comes true, will it be temporary or permanent? Will he still have his powers as as siren or will those disappear? Legs? Lance's silence made Hunk clear his throat, catching his attention.

“What? Who, what, when, where, how and why would I find a human as my other half?” He laughed half-heartedly, but his laugh died off slowly as he chomped down on a chip. “I'm not allowed to go near shore, since what happened years ago.” He rubbed his arms. “Honestly, I'm kind of afraid to meet one. Y’know, a human?”

“Are you afraid of their reaction, or what they'll do?” Hunk questioned. It was a good question, actually, because his question stumped him. What _was_ he afraid of?

“I'm afraid that they're only going to like me based off my appearance. Mama says that that for such a ‘handsome boy’ like me to get such an amazing talent is a blessing. Yeah, it's cool to have this singing talent but… it's a lure, it's just magic. People like me because of my talents and my looks and nobody likes me for…” Lance sighed. “Nobody likes me for me.” He sat on a smoothed out stone near his treasure cave. Hunk ushered Ahiri to go in, going to sit next to Lance.

“Hey,” He nudged him softly. “I like you for you, and so does Pidge.” Lance shrugged him off slightly.

“Well yeah, but it's not like I'm going to settle down with you two.” He mumbled.

“That's besides the point, Lance.” Hunk sighed. “What I'm saying, is that we don't care if you're some super hot mermaid or the worse siren who has eaten a thousand sailors, we like you for who you are. Your personality.” Lance sniffled, looking up at him.

“Really?” He asked, rubbing his nose with the back of his hand. Hunk smiled and wrapped a big arm around his shoulder.

“Really.” Lance leaned into the hug and Hunk rubbed his shoulder.

“But you meant that I'm super hot, right?” Hunk deadpanned and gave a little squeeze that made Lance call for mercy. The two of them laughed and were taken down by Ahiri. At first Lance thought it was another hug, but the sound of her coo was deeper than the last time.

“The storm is here.” Hunk mumbled, patting the ray.

“She held us down from the current, right? I didn't know we spent so much time out here.” Lance looked out from under Ahiri and he could see the flashes of lightning up above.

“It's not that the we spent a lot of time out, the storm got here earlier than expected.” Hunk cursed under his breath, Ahiri pressing down on them as another turbulent current rolled through.

“We’ve got to get back home. Get Ahiri into the cave and I'll warn everyone at home.” Lance told Hunk.

“What? Ahiri can take us to the caves.”

“I know but then she's got to get back on her own. There's no cave big enough for her at home.” Hunk sighed.

“Will you be able to make it home?” Lance flashed him a thumbs up.

“I'm a fast swimmer, don't worry.” He felt the pressure lessen from on top of him and he slipped out from under Ahiri. “I'll see you at home!” Lance called and started the darted home.

The swim home wasn't as easy as he thought it would be. The underwater currents was strong and it would blow him back occasionally, but he didn't let that stop him. He could hear the muffled, distant rumbling of thunder in the skies up above. His eyes glanced upwards at a flash of lightning and he halted.

There was a figure of a body floating on the surface. His eyesight struggled to focus in the on and off flashes and his horizontal travels turned vertical. _Was that a human?_ He swam quickly towards the figure and when he was able to focus and touch it wasn't human at all. When he surfaced, he realized that it was a sea lion and it barked at him nervously.  
“W-What, what are you doing out here, idiot? Can’t you tell the storm is here?” Lance shouted at him over the thundering skies and the loud waves. The sea lion barked weakly, looking down into the water again. “You’re hurt?” Lance dove into the water, his eyes scanning the flippers. It’s hind flippers were stuck in a six-pack plastic ring.

Lance groaned and went back to the surface. Closing hand into a fist and placing it over his lips, he blew through his hand and a bubble came out the other end of his fist. He took the bubble with his other hand and pushed it onto the sea lion’s head, the bubble making an oxygen enriched air bubble for it to breath underwater. With that, Lance dragged it underwater.

“Stay here, don’t move.” He reached for his shoulder, but forgot that he didn’t have his bag with him. He wasn’t expecting to do any adventuring today, so didn’t have anything to cut the plastic with. With a huff, he started scanning the seafloor for anything sharp. He found a sharp piece of stone and went back up to the sea lion. It was a little farther than where he had left it, but that was only because of the underwater currents.

“Don’t move, I’m going to cut the plastic, okay?” His heart pounded in his chest. Usually, he was excited about storms, but this time, he was too riled up, more than usual. His hands shook and he could feel deep down in his gut that something was going to happen. Something bad. He shook the idea out of his head and took a deep breath to calm his nerves. “Come on Lance, you need to get home.” He reminded himself.

Lance a slow breath and gently tugged at the plastic on its flippers. The sea lion flinched and Lance shushed it comfortingly. He tugged on it again, bringing the sharp end into the plastic carefully. If he was able to make a small cut into the plastic, he could tear the rest with his fingers. It took him several tries, but he managed to make a small tear into the plastic and pulled it apart, letting the sea lion free. As soon as it came off, the sea lion went straight up to the surface, Lance following behind it, popping the bubble.

“Now go home!” Lance shouted over the waters. The sea lion barked thankfully and Lance watched as it quickly swam away. Lance sighed softly and dove back under, deciding to cut the rest of the plastic rings so nobody else would get stuck. He let the plastic and the stone go, hearing a loud rumble in the skies. Lance looked up and in another flash of light, he found himself in the middle of an underwater vortex.

Lance was trapped. He didn't know what to do or to escape it, the current eventually pushing him to the surface. The sight scared him - this was how ships sank? In violent and turbulent waters? He never really thought about how they happened, until then. The skies were dark and he couldn't even tell where the shore was.

Lance turned and he saw a huge wall of black water coming towards him. Unable to escape the wave, it crashed into his chest and pushed him under, throwing him spinning into the vortex. He couldn't breathe and for once in his entire life, he felt like he was suffocating.

Then everything went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> vrepit nya ;3c


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mermaid meets human??

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout out to ma girl Amelia, my best friend who helped by beta reading this for me. ily so hecking much

Lance was used to the distant sound of the waves and the sonar calls of other animals that he didn’t care to listen to. This time, however, it was silent. No sonar calling, no sound of waves. There was a low bubbling and a really, really hard floor. He was used to a sandy floor his body could sink into with just a couple wiggles. _Is this tile?_

Lance’s eyes fluttered open and he pushed himself up. His body was sore and it was dark, his eyes were struggling to catch any lights in the body of water. He looked up and saw a tall clouded light. Was that the moon? He needed to take in his surroundings just to see how far he was away from home. He started to swim to the surface, expecting a long, painful swim, only to find the surface extremely close.

Instantly blinded by bright lights, Lance shielded his eyes and looked up at the source. That wasn’t the moon. _Oh boy, that was not the moon._ It was the hotel, the hotel that was close to the shore and that he could see from the alcove where he was singing just… what? Moments ago?

Just how long had it been? Had the storm really blown him to the tall building that he could see from the sea? And where was he anyway? A small body of water? The water tasted horrible and he’d rather prefer to breath the not so better air than the water.

Lance swam around the small body of water. It was deep on one end but it was so shallow on the other end that he could nearly sit. Not only that, there was a smaller body of water that was elevated from the one that he was in and the water was much, much hotter. The heat of the water surprised him, but that didn't stop him from going in there.

It was hot and it barely bubbled, but it put his scales at ease and made him temporarily forget his problem. That was until he heard the near call of a seagull that he was startled and Lance dove back into the other pool.

“Holy hell, how am I going to get back home?” He rubbed his hands together nervously. “I-I can't use sonar, I'm in a completely different body of water.” Lance resurfaced, placing his elbows on the concrete and looking out towards the beach.

There was quite the barrier between him and his sea: a clear wall that surrounded his tiny body of water, an iron gate that surrounded the building and his body of water, a small street, stairs, sand and his home. Not to mention the pesky seagulls. _Could I make it all the way over there without getting caught?_ Lance sighed.

 

* * *

 

He sighed. The night was calm and the sea was resting. Keith liked it better when the skies were rumbling and the sea was churning. Something about the darkness of it brought him comfort. The power flickered throughout the storm and he saw a wave come crashing to shore. 

The wave was a big, it even made it to the pool. Shiro told him to keep away from the window but the turbulent weather brought him peace and comfort.

“...So emo.” Shiro muttered.

It had been an hour since the storm, nearly midnight. He was sitting on the window seats, gazing out into the still beach. There was the occasional cry and the soaring of a seagull, but other than that, everything was motionless.

Except when a certain shimmer caught his eye. He turned his gaze from a the sea to the source of the shimmer, which was the pool. The wave from the storm brought in sand and seaweed, clogging up the cleaners and making the water murky.

The usual lights that lit up the pool couldn't cut through the dark water, but there was something in the pool that was reflecting the light. _Could it be a fish?_ It was highly probable that it could be a fish, but the chances of Keith actually seeing it was less than likely.

Keith tried to repeat that to himself in his mind to keep himself from going down there, but that didn't stop him from slipping on his boots and make an attempt to sneak out.

“Where are you going?” Shiro’s voice cut through the silence and Keith froze.

“I, uh… Going for a walk?” He looked back at Shiro and he gave a nod. Keith sighed and continued out the room.

“It's good for him to get some air.” Shiro nodded to himself.

Keith was greeted by the lobby staff as he inquired how to get into the pool area. “If you use your key card, you'll be able to get inside, but because of the wave from the storm, the pool will be closed until further notice.” The receptionist apologized and Keith nodded.

“Thanks.” He waved and headed out the doors, making his way to the pool area. The gate wouldn't respond to his key card, so he only assumed that it was the hotel closed off access to the pool. That didn't stop him from jumping over the door.

It was quiet, except for the bubbling of the hot tub. Was someone in there or was the hot tub still functioning? He walked to it, noticing that it also had murky water, but was still perfectly functioning.

Another shimmer of light caught his attention. He turned to look at the shimmer and there was a quick movement in the water. He stepped towards the edge of a pool, peering into the water.

There was seaweed floating around and the whatever was in there made the sand rise and make the water more murky. It was frustrating. If only he had a light to shine into the water…

 

* * *

 

Yup. Lance was truly and utterly fucked. How was he supposed to get back? How was he supposed to contact others? He was swimming around in circles, until he picked up the sound of someone coming. He dove into the deep end of the pool, watching a figure jump the fence.

_Wow, human legs would help me get home quicker._ Lance blew bubbles, keeping his eyes on the figure. Skin color was hard to determine, but there was muscle. Not a lot of muscle, but toned. He looked tall, but Lance couldn't really determine the difference between human height and mermaid length. He watched as he peered at the water; human eyes are weak and capture the light, so there was no way that he would see him, yet Lance could see him clear as day. The boy shuffled back and forth, until he reached into his pocket and a light pierced through the water.

Startled by the sudden light, Lance flailed his tail, picking up the sand and other life in there with him. The water became darker and Lance swam into the deeper end, watching how the boy kept shining his light into the water.

Keith saw it… Whatever _it_ was. _It_ reacted to his phone light, so he knew it had to be something. Something big, something that was trying to hide, trying not to be seen. Or… Any reasonable creature could be afraid of a random light shining into a pool. He’s sure that he would have flinched if a light was shone in his face.

Keith stayed in the pool area for a little longer, waiting as the sand settled in the water. It didn’t take long but he couldn’t see any movement in the water, except for some small silver fish that barely reflected any light. With a huff, Keith decided to go back inside.

“What were you expecting, a mermaid or something?” He scoffed to himself. What would be the odds that mermaids actually exist? Aren’t they supposed to be myths or something? Yeah, just like aliens don’t exist and neither does Bigfoot or Texas.

_What are you getting yourself worked up for?_ That’s what he tried to tell himself as another day came and went and he was looking outside his window once again. He thought of the possibility that maybe mermaids did exist, since unfortunately, Texas was real. He has proof Texas is real because he _is_ half Texan. So, maybe mermaids did exist?

_Just keep an open mind. Maybe it’s an oversized fish, maybe it’s a mermaid._ Keith and Shiro were coming back from dinner and as they walked towards the elevator, they were greeted by a woman. She was dressed in a pale blue shirt and black pants, her silver hair tied up in a messy bun contrasting against her beautifully dark skin. She was pulling around a cart that was full of cleaning utensils and extra toiletries, probably a housekeeper.

They said their hello’s and she said that if they needed anything, don’t hesitate to call for housekeeping. Shiro thanked her and she disappeared into a back room. Shiro motioned for them to continue onto their room, but Keith made some bs that he was going to ask for something at the front desk.

“More towels.” Shiro squinted at him, mumbling that he was pretty sure housekeeping would have restocked their room while they were out at dinner. Either way, he wasn’t going to entertain Keith’s antics and decided to retreat to his bedroom, telling Keith not to stay out too late. Keith mumbled back affirmatively and loitered around until Shiro was gone.

Keith poked his head out into the hallway. He’d been hiding in a dark corner of the dining room for about five minutes. There hadn’t been any movement, aside from one or two guests checking in or coming down to buy some snacks from the front desk market, but that housekeeper wasn’t to be seen. There was cameras down the halls, but the likelihood of someone checking those was small.

Trying to look as inconspicuous as possible, Keith bought a soda from the market and walked down the hall, towards where they met the housekeeper. He dove towards the little hallway she disappeared into and started to look through the cart that she left out into the hallway. Toilet paper, toothpaste, towels, sugars, creamers, good lord housekeepers have everything in their carts, toothbrushes, shampoo-

“Aha.” A blue keycard with the name “Allura” taped on the top of it. A master keycard that could probably save him the jump over the fence into the pool area.

“Can I help you with something?” Keith tucked the key into his pocket and he looked up at the woman again. She was munching on something, looking at him semi-suspiciously.

“Ah, sorry, I, um… Do you have any toothpaste? We forgot to pack some and the guy I’m with used it all…” She gave a curious hum, reaching into her cart. She pulled out a small travel tube of toothpaste and offered it to Keith, but brought her hand back before he could take it.

“Next time, don’t go rummaging through other people’s things.” She narrowed her gaze at him and he mumbled an apology. She stared at him for a bit and then handed him the tube.

“Thank you. Good night.” He tucked the tube into his pocket and waved an awkward goodbye, walking down the hallway towards the elevator. He turned the hallway and pressed the button for the elevator, but didn’t go in, listening for Allura to go back into the little room she came from. Once he heard the door close, he peeked his head out again and found the hallway empty.

With the coast clear, he headed back towards the pool area. He felt the outline of the keycard in his pocket, quietly walking towards the pool area. As he exited the building, he closed the door silently behind him and he could hear the soft sound of humming. The sound was low, but it reached his ears and it sounded like gold. The sound was attractive and it almost felt as if he was in a trance as he made his way to the pool.

As Keith got closer to the pool, he could see a figure sitting on the edge of the pool, a bare back facing him. Their lower half of the body was in the water, but he could see the skin get darker as his eyes trailed down to the lower back. And on the head, covered by light brown locks, were light blue, almost iridescent… gills?

The soft humming that he once heard suddenly grew and the voice wrapped around him.

_Sorrows, to the sea,_   
_We're headed to nowhere, but nowhere is somewhere to me._   
_Take these broken things,_   
_Turn them to something, but please don't follow me._   
_If I'm lost at sea,_   
_Tell my mother, my father, my sisters, my brother,_   
_My friends and my foes, and all my past lovers,_   
_That I will miss them so._   
_But lord, I had to go._

“That’s pretty ironic, don’t you think?” Lance gasped and jumped into the water. _When did a human sneak up on him!_ He turned to look at the human and it was the boy from the previous night. This time, he didn't jump the but managed to open the door and stand at the edge of the pool.

Lance was in the shallow end of the pool, so he couldn't hide very well and Keith could see him. _What's the point of staying hidden since he was already caught?_ Lance surfaced, the water barely covering the bridge of his nose.

“You're singing that you're lost at sea, when you're lost on land.” Keith sat close to the edge of the pool, his legs crossed. Lance nearly glared at him but the fact that a _human_ was sitting in front of him made his anger simmer.

“What do you want?” As Lance spoke, he rose out of the water more, revealing speckled scales that were on Lance’s cheek. They shimmered as they reflected the moonlight off of his cheeks and his dazzling blue eyes.

“The storm brought you in, didn't it?” Lance surfaced more and Keith was able to see more skin, speckled shoulders and a toned chest that glimmered and water danced in light as they rolled down the planes of the boy's body.

Light blue, iridescent gills where ears are are supposed to be, light brown locks that didn't even look wet. Crystal blue eyes and dark blue freckle scales that shone with the moon and caramel colored skin that made Keith wonder if it tasted like caramel--

“Hey.” A snap of cobalt blue, webbed fingers snapped Keith out of his train of thought. He blinked and looked at the creature in the pool in front of him. “What do you want?”

“What do I… want?” Keith shook his head. “I've been seeing glitter from my bedroom window and I've been curious as to what's in the pool, so I came to take a look.” The merboy gave a dismissive huff.

“Well, you're the first.” He mumbled as he crossed his arms across his chest. Blue fins fluttered in the wind from the middle of his upper arm to the middle of his lower arms. Probably to help him swim? “By the way, you called this a… ‘pool’?” Keith nodded.

“Yeah, this is a pool, and that,” He pointed towards the raised pool. “Is the hot tub.” Lance swam to the edge closest to the hot tub.

“A ‘hot tub’, huh? Makes sense since it's hot.” _Okay Lance, keep it cool._ Here he was, casually talking to a human, an actual human. Yeah, he had to snap the human out of his little trance but that's what happens when they hear his voice.

Lance's gills twitched with excitement. _You're not a little merpup anymore Lance, you're a merboy._ Lance glanced at the boy who was still sitting at the edge of the pool. His skin was pale and it made him glow in the moonlight, his hair a stark contrast against his skin… but he was attractive, to say the least.

Lance started to swimming towards him and Keith noticed the glint in his eye that shouted for him to try and run, but it was too late. As Keith tried to crawl back to put room space in between them, Lance was already between his legs and leaning close to his face. 

  
“What’s your name?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song that Lance is singing is "Lost at Sea" by Never Shout Never!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asking your human wannabe boyfriend for food

Smooth caramel skin that glowed in the moonlight, cobalt fingers that brushed the hair out of his face and blue eyes that seemed to dip into his soul. His lips moved slowly and Keith had to blink several times to get himself out of whatever trance he was getting into.

"M-My name?" The merboy between his legs nodded. "Keith... Keith Kogane."

"Keith Kogane." Keith's eyes followed the way his lips pronounced every syllable. Which made him think why he gave him his whole name in the first place.

"What about you?" The merboy blinked, pulling back a bit.

"Mine?" Keith nodded. "My name's Lance."

"Lance?" He nodded. "Uh, do you mind me asking... _what_ you are?" He rubbed the back of his neck, hoping that he wouldn't offend the beautiful boy in front of him. Lance smiled.

"I'm a merman. Or well, merboy, I'm not that old. The type or mermaid I am? Siren." Lance eyed the bottle that Keith had set on the floor beside him. "What's that?" He didn't want to hear what he had to say about him being a siren. Actually, he didn't want to know.

In the merworld, sirens were one of the most beautiful and gifted, but they were highly promiscuous and weren't likely to settle. The merpeople knew that and he hated to hear it. And he would much rather not hear it from a human.

"Oh, this?" Keith picked up the bottle and showed it to him. "It's soda, ever had some?" He glanced at Lance and found it cute how his eyes sparkled.

"Soda?"

"It's like, a sugary, carbonated, flavored drink." Keith moved the bottle around and Lance could see the dark liquid slosh inside and his eyebrows furrowed.

"Are you supposed to drink something with that color?" Keith chuckled, and turned the cap. Lance flinched with the hiss of the bottle and retreated into the water slightly.

"Taste it." Keith offered. Lance eyed the bottle wearily and then looked up at Keith. Could he trust this human? Part of him said no; why are you going to drink some nasty colored looking drink, especially from a human? But the other part of him begged yes; Keith was so appealing to his eyes and even if the drink was sketchy, if Keith wanted to hurt him, he would have done so already.

"Okay." Lance got closer and pulled himself to sit beside Keith. Keith held the bottle by the neck of it, so Lance took hold of it from the bottom. Watching the way the dark liquid move in the bottle unsettled his stomach slightly, but he told himself he would try it. He brought the bottle to his lips and he slowly raised the bottle.

When he drank, the bubbly liquid appealed to his sweet tooth and he fell in love with the taste. When it came to swallowing the liquid, it burned. Lance quickly gave back the bottle to Keith, shaking his head as the gas from the soda burned his nose.

"Oh my seven seas, how the hell do you drink that?" Lance exclaims, fanning at his gills. "Is that all you weird humans drink?" Keith chuckled.

"There's more than just this. There's tea, juices, smoothies, coffee. All sorts of things." Keith closed the bottle and crossed his legs again. That reminded Lance of something important, so important that he nearly went Into Keith's lap again.

"What about food?" Keith blinked, leaning back to put some space between them. They were practically nose to nose...

"Uh, what about it?" Not that Keith minded, of course, he didn't mind having such a handsome person in his face and on his lap.

"What do you eat? All we have to eat is the sea life around us, so our selection isn't that wide. So, what do you eat here?"

"Well... there's really a lot, it's hard to explain." Keith looked up towards his the building and Lance followed his gaze as well. "I don't have any food in my room, but I can probably get you something from where I got this." He motioned to his soda.

"Can you get me some?" Lance's eyes glittered and Keith couldn't possibly say no.

"I'll find you something." Lance smiled and got off of Keith's lap, going back into the water. "I'll be back, okay?" Keith stood, leaving his bottle on the ground and heading back inside to the hotel.

It was quiet, except for the soft sounds of the television. The front desk clerk said hello sleepily as Keith made his way over to the little shop they had. The selection available wasn't what he had hoped for but he got a couple things that Lance could try out - microwavable pizza, some pretzel chips, chocolate ice cream.

Keith went to his room to microwave the pizza and he got judgmental looks from Shiro - they had just came from eating - but he went back downstairs with silverware and napkins. Once he made it back to a pool, Lance hopped onto the surface with a smile.

Every time Keith would lay eyes on him, he was rendered speechless and breathless. Do sirens have that effect on people? He wasn't sure. His eyes followed Lance's long, beautiful tail as it swayed in and out of the water. After realizing he was staring, he blinked and sat down by the edge.

"Something smells good." Lance hummed, leaning close to Keith to see what he had.

"It's not much, but I brought a little bit of everything." Keith set down the food and Lance took it all in. He didn't know what most things were, but they looked tasty and wanted to try them all.

"What's this?" He asked, pointing at the pizza.

"Careful, it's hot." Keith averted Lance's hand that was reaching for it. "It's pizza. It's not that great because it's microwaveable but it will do for now."

"Microwaveable pizza." He repeated with a hum.

"Yeah, I brought some silverware so you won't-" _Wait_. "Do you know how to use silverware?" Lance stared at him.

_Have I lived under a rock?_ Let's not answer that. "Silverware?" Lance blinked innocently.

"Here, I can help." Keith started to cut a piece of the pizza, offering the fork to Lance. Instead of taking the fork, Lance opened his mouth. Keith's face heated up a bit and he hoped that mermaid vision wasn't great in dark. He blew at the food so it wouldn't be too hot and into Lance's mouth. Lance closed his lips around it and Keith slowly removed the fork from his lips.

Lance couldn't even begin to explain the flavors. There was the zesty tomato, along with the spices that came with it. The heat of the pepperoni, the melt of the cheeses and the softness of the crust. It was a lot in one sitting and Lance didn't know if he could handle it.

"So, what do you think?" Keith asked. Lance continued to chew, swallowing after a while.

"I don't know what to say, it's really good." He mumbled. Keith chuckled.

"There's better pizza, but this is the only thing I could get my hands on so you could taste." He started to cut another piece of the pizza but Lance stopped him, taking the silverware out of his hands.

"Thank you." He smiled. Lance figured he would save him from the embarrassment, even though he liked the look of Keith's blushing face.

"Wait, you know how to use them?" Lance smirked, stabbing at a bit of pizza.

"I may have lived underwater, but I'm not an idiot." Lance stuck his tongue out at him, taking another bite. Keith hummed disapprovingly.

"Jokes on you, only pricks use silverware to eat pizza." Keith stuck his tongue back out at him and Lance gave a muffled gasp.

"So how are you supposed to eat?" He questioned. Keith motioned to his hands, and grabbed one of the slices. He blew to cool it down before taking a bite and looked towards Lance with a smirk, while Lance scoffed. "Excuse you, this is my pizza, the first time I taste something of its sort, and who said that you're allowed to have a piece?" Lance tried reaching for the slice, but Keith leaned away.

"Excuse you, I was the one who purchased the pizza." A lie, he charged it to the room and Shiro was the one paying for the room. Lance picked up the rest of the pizza and took a bite, pouting.

"You're a pain." He grumbled.

"Says the one who's hungry for human food." Keith retorted. Lance gave an indignant huff and put the pizza down, looking at the other goodies that Keith brought.

"What is this?" He reached for the small tub of ice cream, flinching back when he realized how cold it was. "What the hell is that?" Keith chuckled.

"Ice cream. It's a frozen milk treat that comes in different flavors." Lance rose an eyebrow.

"Frozen milk?" There were mermaids with freezing capabilities but to freeze milk and flavor it? "And what flavor is that?"

"Chocolate." Lance's gills fluttered. He always wondered what chocolate tasted like. Keith started to open the small tub, picking up the spoon once he set the lid down. Keith dragged the spoon across the top of the ice cream, Lance watching in amazement as the ice cream curled into the spoon. "Fair warning, don't bite it, just hold it between your tongue and the top of your mouth." He offered the spoon to Lance and he took it.

Lance held the spoon before him, staring at the treat. He glanced up at Keith, who gave him an encouraging nod and Lance placed the spoon into his mouth. It was cold but it was a sweet taste that melted in his mouth, leaving him wanting more. Keith could tell by the way Lance's eyes sparkled that he loved it. Which led to Lance feeding himself spoonful upon spoonful of the frozen treat.

"L-Lance, wait, don't-" But it was too late. Lance already had his palm to his head, groaning in pain. "You're not supposed to eat too quickly or you will get a brain freeze." Keith sighed. Lance fanned himself as he ate all the ice cream he had in his mouth, before exhaling deeply.

"You couldn't have warned me beforehand?" Lance rubbed his temples with the butts of his hands. Keith chuckled guiltily.

"I didn't think you'd literally chow down." Lance grumbled in pain and Keith gave him an apologetic look as he rubbed his temples. "Are you okay?" He asked softly. Lance looked up and he slowly nodded.

"Yes, I think I'm fine." He sighed. "Next time, warn me beforehand?" _Next time?_ Keith nodded and Lance sighed, taking in a smaller, singular spoonful of ice cream. Keith watched him eat for a bit, before training his eyes elsewhere. He didn't want to get caught staring - however, unfortunately for him, he had been caught already. "Do you want some?" Keith turned back towards Lance and nearly bumped into the spoon of ice cream. He leaned back a bit, looking at the spoon and back at Lance.

"You don't mind?" Keith asked and Lance looked down towards the tub of ice cream.

"It's a big tub," It really wasn't. "And I'm probably not going to finish it all and it's not like I have a nifty, little, freezing device down in the pool with me to keep it cool." He shrugged slightly. Keith stared at Lance's blue eyes and he nodded slowly. Lance rose the spoon to his lips and Keith slowly closed his mouth around the spoon. Lance's smile grew slowly as he pulled the spoon.

"Thanks." Keith wiped some ice cream off his bottom lip with his thumb and Lance's eyes caught that. They looked soft, plush and pink. A piece of him wondered what they would feel like – yeah, he's kissed before, both merboys and mergirls, but a human? He always wondered what that would be like.

Lance tore his gaze away from Keith's lips and they continued to eat the ice cream in silence. "Thank you, for buying me all this stuff." Lance licked the spoon clean. "You won't... Tell anyone about me, won't you?" Keith stared at him blankly.

"Why would I tell someone about you?" He asked. Lance rubbed his arm self-consciously.

"Well, I _am_  a merboy." He mumbled. Keith shook his head a little and his hand reached out to Lance's, that was resting against the floor. Lance's gills fluttered as he looked down at Keith's fingers touching his and looked up at him.

"I won't tell anyone, Lance. You have my word." Lance could feel his face heating up. "Is there anything I can do to make the promise I won't tell?" He asked softly. Keith's eyes were so full of sincerity that Lance's heart fluttered in his chest.

_You could kiss me._  Lance shook his head. "I-I believe you." He replied. Keith looked between Lance's eyes and he slowly nodded.

"Okay, good." He pulled his hand and Lance almost whimpered sadly. "Well, I should, uh, get going. It's getting pretty late."

"Oh, of course. I didn't mean to keep you up late." Now that he thought about it, boy, was he exhausted.

"It's okay, I didn't mind." Keith smiled slightly and there went Lance's heart again. Keith picked up their mess and he stood, looking back at Lance. "Have a good night?" Lance couldn't help his chuckle.

"Yeah, you have a good night too." Lance smiled, going back into the water. He would have preferred to stay in a cleaner body of water, but he could only ask so much from a human. Keith gave a small wave and headed out the pool area, making his way to the nearest door.

Keith turned into the doorway to unlock it with Allura's key, when he was met with a familiar face. He nearly dropped his things and he tucked the card into his pocket before she could see it. She gazed down at him suspiciously. "Where are you coming from?" She asked, eyeing his snacks. Keith gulped a bit.

"I was sitting on one of the benches by the boardwalk." He saw how her eyes went to the pool area, before she looked back at him.

"You haven't been near the pool, have you? It's currently closed right now, just a friendly reminder." Keith nodded.

"Nope, I heard from the front reception." She nodded slowly, still examining Keith's expression.

"Very well." She opened the door, taking a key out of her pocket and unlocking the door. "Come on in." Keith mumbled a 'thank you' and he headed inside, his steps slowly stopping as a question started to jump around his head.

"Hey, uh..." She closed the door, turning to him.

"Allura." She provided.

"Do you know when they're going to clean the pool?" She rose a curious eyebrow. "Shiro, the guy I'm with, he was anticipating going to the pool." He added quickly.

"Well, since the storm hit the shore rather hard, there's a couple hotels the cleaners need to reach soon. But odds are that they will start cleaning the pool early," She looked at her time. Did Keith fail to notice that it was almost 3 am? "Tomorrow morning." Keith hummed, his mind already coming up with ideas on what to do with Lance in the case he can't get back home in time.

"Thanks, I'll let him know." He turned and started down the hall, before stopping at the corner. "Hey, Allura?"

"Yes?"

"Do you believe in mermaids?" There was a silence and it made Keith turn.

"The world is full of magical creatures that stay hidden from the human eye. Humans aren't particularly kind to the magical creatures of the world, so if you happen to encounter one, I'd say you're rather lucky." She smiled and Keith could sense that there was some sort of longing behind her words. "I hope that answers your question. Good night."

"Night." Keith turned the corner and headed to the elevator.

Keith's dreams were full of underwater creatures and colorful sea life. The feeling of the waves around him and the sand between his fingers. The warmth of the sun on his skin and the taste of chocolate on his tongue. The whole dream was breathtaking, full of mixtures of cobalt blue and scarlet red and a sweet, alluring voice he couldn't wait to hear again.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reheated breakfast is disgusting

The sleep was uncomfortable but the dreams made it bearable. The feeling of _feet_ on the sand, between his toes and bathing in the sun. Eating all the different types of food and wearing clothes, clothes!

Lance was welcomed with a murky sunlight, remembering that he was in the pool. The pool. The pool of the hotel. The pool of the hotel that Keith was staying in. The human that caught him in the pool and brought him pizza and snacks.

He surfaced, taking in a gulp a somewhat cleaner air. He looked up towards the sun, determining that it was still early morning. He looked towards the hotel building, his thoughts wondering on whether Keith was awake or not.

 _What if he's gone? What if he's not coming back? What if he tells people about me hiding in the pool and catch me and_ \-- Lance shook his insecurities out of his head. Keith wouldn't do that, right?

Time couldn't go fast enough and honestly, Keith was a little worried. _Is Lance okay? Does he have anything to eat? What does a merperson eat_? It was broad daylight and Keith didn't think that he be able to make to the pool to leave him food without getting caught. Keith looked out from his window and his eyes searched for any glimmering in the pool. If he looked closely, he could see movement in the pool.

“Keith, I’m going to hit the town, do you want to tag along?” Shiro stood at Keith’s doorway and Keith looked towards him, shaking his head.

“No, I’ll just…” his voice trailed off and he looked back towards the pool. Maybe he can get something for Lance. Something to eat, since he wouldn’t be able to see him until nighttime. “Yeah, I’ll tag along.” He stood, gathering his boots and putting them on.

The town was a sight to see, in daylight and nighttime. It was spring break, so every shop had sales and people buzzed about from different places. It was mostly a lot of tourist shops, restaurants and clubs, none of which Keith took interest in… at least until now.

“Hello, young man, anything get your attention?” Keith found himself standing in front of a small table with jewelry. Beaded bracelets, leather necklaces, rings and earrings.

“I’m just looking…” His voice trailed off as a specific necklace made him think of someone on particular. It was leather necklace with a silver hook attached to the bottom. The hook looked sharp but when he touched it, it was blunt. “Excuse me, but would this rot in water?” The merchant looked over at him.

“A lot of the jewelry we make is waterproof, and since the hook is slightly heavy, it won’t float.” The merchant took the necklace off the display, handing it to Keith. “Would you be swimming with it?”

“Yeah, something like that.” The merchant nodded.

“It’s a good necklace, I definitely recommend purchasing it. Just don’t sleep with it.” His mind wandered to see what the necklace would look like on Lance.

“How much?” An impulsive buy. Keith took his wallet out, paying for the necklace.

“Do you want a bag or would you like to wear it out?” He wanted to get it in a bag, but he didn’t want to get looks from Shiro.

“I’ll wear it out, thank you.” Keith slipped the necklace on and tucked it into his shirt. Barely noticeable, perfect. He tucked his hands into his pockets, turning away to search for Shiro. He was a couple shops down, standing in front of a little café.

“Finished your shopping?” Shiro asked, motioning his head towards the café.

“I didn't buy anything.” Shiro rose an eyebrow at him before nodding, turning into the café.

When they sat down to eat, Keith ended up ordering a meal that was big enough for two people… Which both the server and Shiro warned him about. “I know that it’s big enough for two people, I’m just that hungry.” Keith muttered.

“Would you like a ‘to go’ box, sir?” Shiro nodded, giving Keith a side glance that gave a ‘we told you so’ kind of vibe, but also read ‘I’m not even going to fucking bother with you’. Teenagers go through growth spurts, right? Keith was a decent eighteen years of age, so he was still gaining, right? _Wait_.

“I was just really hungry, I thought that I could eat all of that-“ Keith tried to defend his stance, holding up a hand.

“I don’t even want to hear about it.” He rose both hands up in resignation. “I don’t know who or _what_ you’re trying to feed, just leave me out of it. I just want a vacation.” Keith boxed away his leftover food with small mumbles, Shiro paying for their meal and they left.

Shiro went around to different other shops and Keith followed around. The library – I wonder if Lance likes to read. Wait, can merpeople read our language or do they have their own language? The supermarket – I wonder what kind of ice cream Lance would consider his favorite? Does he like sweets? Several clothes stores – those would definitely look good on Lance.

The rest of the day came and went, the final rays of sun giving way to the twinkling star lights. As soon as Shiro went in to take a shower, Keith started to reheat the food from earlier that day. Not a minute later, Keith was already walking silently down the halls, the warm smells of his food wafting through the halls.

Keith exited the building and fishing out Allura’s key card, he accessed the pool with no problem at all. He looked around before entering, closing the door behind him quietly. Yeah, the pool wasn’t secluded from human eye, but it was dark and unless someone was really trying to look for him, he wouldn’t get seen.

Keith sat by the pool’s edge, taking the to-go box out of the plastic bag and opening it, looking into the water. “Hey Lance, are you there?” His voice was soft, but hopefully loud enough to be heard through the water. Keith tried to search the murky water for any movement, but it was hard to see. “Lance?” He lifted himself to his knees, his fingers bracing to edge of the pool. _Was he gone_?

“Did you miss me?” From the other end of the pool, blue eyes glowing in the moonlight. Keith sighed softly, putting on a face of irritation to play it off as he sat back down. “Aw, were you worried because I didn’t surface quickly enough?”

“This isn’t a joke, you ass.” Keith huffed. “I was genuinely worried that something might have happened to you.” Lance snickered at first, then his gills grew warm. He came to the edge of the pool, hopping onto the edge beside him.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to worry you.” Lance’s hands were close by Keith’s leg, leaning close to him. “If it’s any consolation, I’m glad you came back today.” Lance’s deep blue fingers picked at the Styrofoam to-go box, glancing up at Keith. It was illegal to be so handsome and good with words. Is that a siren thing or simply a mermaid thing?

Keith didn’t know how to reply, so instead, he opened up the box he brought. It was reheated breakfast food – scrambled eggs, some pancakes, hashbrowns, bacon. Reheated breakfast was notoriously shitty after refrigeration and reheating, but that didn’t seem so to Lance. He leaned over the open box, breathing in deeply and sighing softly.

“Wow, that smells good.” He mumbled, taking the silverware that Keith provided. He picked up some of the not so fluffy scrambled eggs and brought them to his mouth, groaning softly. “ _Dios mio_ , Keith.” _Okay, that was also illegal_. Keith watched him eat, content just by watching him eat. Was that weird? He didn’t care, plus Lance didn’t seem to mind either.

Since Lance wasn’t particularly fond of soft drinks, Keith brought a bottle of iced tea instead. He opened the bottle for him and it was amusing how Lance was hesitant in drinking. When he found that it didn’t burn as much as a soda did, he drank more happily.

“You’re going to make me fat.” Lance sighed, laying back on the cool cement. Keith chuckled, his knees tucked to his chest and he rested his head on his knees.

“Is that even possibly for merpeople? You’d think with all that swimming, a merperson would relatively stay in shape. Not only that but fat is buoyant.” Lance couldn’t help the small smile.

“Has someone been doing research on merpeople?” Keith blushed. He actually hadn’t but he hadn’t even thought of that until Lance mentioned it.

“I-I haven’t but that’s like, common sense, dude.” Lance rose an eyebrow with a tiny, disbelieving hum.

"Excuse me." The two of them jumped, Keith looking back at the source of the new voice and Lance jumping into the water. It was Allura, standing inside the pool area, her arms crossed against her chest and she looked down at them. _Them_.

"A-Allura, I-I, um..." Keith scrambled up to his feet, casting a glance back at the pool. It was murky, but his eyes could catch the light in Lance's.

"Is this where you've been sneaking off to in the middle of the night? Staying out at the boardwalk until three in the morning is quite unlikely." Her finger tapped on her forearm as she expected an answer from him. "Coming to the pool when you're not supposed to. You know what happens when guests don't oblige to hotel rules and policies? They get escorted off of the property." Keith flinched. The last thing he wanted was to get kicked out of the hotel they were staying at for spring break.

"Sorry, I won't come back." Keith picked up his things and tried to maneuver around her, but she held onto his arm, pushing him back in front of her.

"Ah, ah, don't think you're getting off the hook so easily." She glanced to the pool. "You're not alone. Who jumped into the pool?" Her gaze went back to Keith and Keith had to stop himself from shivering.

"It's was just a... seal or something." Keith muttered. Allura narrowed her gaze.

"Oh, I wasn't aware that seals ate reheated breakfast and used silverware." She took a step towards the water, her eyes scanning. "Hey you, get out now before I fish you out." Keith hoped that Lance wouldn't come out and he tried to take slow steps backwards, in case he needed to make a run for it. The silence was stifling, until he heard the water move.

Keith heard a soft gasp and he looked back to the pool, finding Allura kneeling and the water level up to Lance's nose, his gills barely peeking above water.

"Is this why you asked that question last night?" Allura asked, turning back to Keith. "Did you get washed in by the storm?" He asked, turning back to Lance.

"Yeah, I've been stuck in this pool and Keith has been keeping me... Well fed." Lance was hesitant to surface at all. Who was this lady and why was she all up in their business? However, the more Lance looked at her, the slowly she looked more familiar. Allura quickly stood and turned to Keith, snapping her fingers in front of his face. Keith flinched, blinking several times and taking a step back.

"Hey, what gives?" He asked, nearly glaring at her.

"He said you're keeping him well fed. He didn't lure you here to eat you?" She turned back to Lance. "Tell me that you have _not_ preyed on _anyone_." Lance surfaced more, the water level to his shoulders and he huffed.

"For your information, I'm not that kind of siren!" _Preyed on anyone? Lure you here to eat you_? His face burned in embarrassment, he couldn't believe that she would just say this all out loud, especially in front of Keith. "He's been kind enough to bring me food, so that's what I've been eating. I wouldn’t... Use him that way." Lance muttered. Allura stared at Lance as he hid back in the water, watching how Lance would cast a glance at Keith. She shut her eyes and sighed, rolling her head back.

"Of all the things that had to wash up, it had to be a mermaid." She pulled out her radio and called to the front desk, taking a couple steps to the pool gate, before looking back at the two of them. "Stay." She walked out of the pool gate and paced around, outside of hearing distance. Keith turned back to Lance, kneeling close to the edge.

"Lance, what are we going to do? You got caught." He felt guilty, extremely guilty – if they got caught it was because he was careless enough to be seen going to the pool. Lance remained silent, simply gazing at Allura's far off figure.

"She reminds me of someone." His voice was distant and Keith glanced towards Allura. "I feel like I've met her somewhere." He mumbled.

"And she immediately knew what you were. Whereas, I..." Maybe it was because she worked close to the beach, maybe it was because tourists like to imagine and talk about lore, or something.

"There used to be this... tale." Lance came closer to the edge, resting his arms on the edge of the pool. "A beautiful mermaid with a coral pink tail that was exceptional at magic. There was a time that that mermaid wanted to become a human and with her magical skills, she was able to change herself to a human. However, because of this, she was banished from returning to the oceans and all memories of her were wiped." Keith sat down, looking towards Allura.

"You think that she's that mermaid?" Lance narrowed his gaze, glancing up at Keith.

"I don't know. I heard about this maybe a couple years ago and it was just a big story that was going around. It traveled from pod to pod and details get lost along the way." He shrugged. "The way she was able to classify me was pretty suspicious too." Lance perked as he saw Allura coming back and she sighed, coming back into the pool area.

"So, I spoke with front management and I've managed to delay the pool clean up for a couple days, due to sea life." She looked down at Lance. "We're going to have to get you out of there." Lance narrowed his eyes slightly, looking up at her.

"By any chance, would you happen to be that banished mermaid?" She stiffened and Lance smirked, Keith shaking his head at his bluntness.

"How did you hear about that?" She asked.

"It was a tale that was going around. I heard it maybe a couple years ago. So, is it true?" She was hesitant, but she sat down on one of the chairs nearby.

"Yeah, I... turned into a human and I was banished from returning, all memories of me being wiped... Or so I thought." She looked down at the two of them.

"I mean, if you hadn't pointed me out so obviously, I would have never thought. But you quickly went to check on Keith in the case that I..." His voice trailed off. "Did something to him." He cleared his throat.

"I just wasn't expecting seeing a merboy in my pool." Her gaze turned into a glare. "Merpeople are very observant on the weather, what the _hell_ were you doing when you got washed away by the storm?" Lance huffed.

"Helping a tied up seal." He rose up his hand. "Please, save me the scoldings, I'm sure I'll get enough of those when I get home." He muttered.

"Whenever you get home. How do you suggest we do that, Lance?" She smiled, mock innocently. Lance smiled back just as innocently.

"You still have magic, don't you? I have a suggestion." Allura's smile faltered and Keith could feel the air around them grow cold.

"No, absolutely not." She shook her head.

"Why not? All I would need is some legs to casually carry me to shore and I'll be out of your pool and hair within seconds." Lance smiled. "Unless... Unless, you want to get a cooler big enough for you to keep me hydrated enough to make it to shore." He shrugged, picking at his nails. "Not to mention, keep me out of sight from late night tourists _and_ seagulls." Allura glared at him and Keith tried to withhold his chuckle. Lance held a compelling argument.

"Sirens." Allura spat under her breath. "Fine, I'll do it."


	7. Chapter 7

Because of their magical abilities with their voice, sirens were almost always able to bend someone their way. Even without using his siren abilities, Lance was able to get Allura to use magic – whatever magic she had – to transform him to a human.   
  
So here the three were, Lance sitting on the edge of the pool, his tail slowly swaying in the water, while Allura stood before him, reading off a weathered book. Keith sat behind them, on one of the pool lounge chairs. Allura was chanting something under her breath, her eyes closed and Keith could sense the air around him changing.   
  
A ring of light started to form around Lance, glowing mysteriously blue. The circle would occasionally fade and Allura would curse under her breath, until it reformed. The glowing grew brighter and it started to close on Lance, making his tail shimmer more beautifully than before.   
  
The shimmer centered on the bottom of his tail and started growing upwards, the glowing going so bright that Keith had to shield his eyes. The wind circled around them and blew harshly, until it stilled suddenly and the bright light ceased. Keith lowered his hand and looked down at Lance.   
  
The gills were replaced by ears. The freckled scales around his cheeks and shoulders were replaced with regular freckles. His fingers were the same caramel color as the rest of his skin, the dark blue webbing between his fingers gone. His fins were replaced by long, lean but toned legs and—very, very naked Lance.   
  
“Oh god!” Keith quickly turned, feeling his face burn. “U-Um, you’re… naked.”   
  
“Thank you, Captain Obvious.” Allura sighed, closing her book and setting it down on one of the lounge chairs, fetching a pool towel for Lance to cover up.   
  
“Should I go get him clothes, or something?” Keith asked, barely looking back. It was a crime to see so much skin like that.   
  
“That would be helpful.” Her tone dripped with sarcasm and Keith quickly stood, making his way back to the hotel.   
  
Halfway up the elevator, Keith started to believe that this was all some sort of crazy dream and that he was sleep walking. Or something like that. Mermaids exist? This handsome merboy was turned into an even more handsome human? What is life?   
  
Keith entered his room silently and went to his luggage, gathering around some clothes for Lance to wear. A spare shirt, some spare briefs and shorts. Would these even fit him? Keith tried to imagine Lance wearing his clothes and he felt his face heat up. Not that he liked to imagine Lance in his clothing. It was just sheer curiosity on whether it would fit him or not… _Right_.   
  
Keith rushed downstairs and back to the pool, casting his glance down once he made it inside the pool gates. “I’ve got clothes.” Keith announced.   
  
“Thanks Keith.”   
  
Keith looked up at the sound of his name and boy, was that a mistake. Even though Lance was no longer a merboy, he still glowed mysteriously. Attractively. The freckles that replaced the scales around his body seemed to collect the light and give him an angelic glow. And even his voice made him shiver.   
  
“Yeah, no problem.” He cleared his throat and handed the clothes to him, before turning away.   
  
“Oh, you could at least help the poor boy get dressed, I’d rather _not_ familiarize myself with the male anatomy at this very moment.” Allura groaned. Keith looked towards Allura, who was sitting on one of the lounge chairs and shielding her gaze from the still naked boy. There was a small sigh from Keith before he turned back to Lance, who was ecstatic over his toes.   
  
“Keith, look at these little nubs! They’re like nipples, but bigger!” The innocent, childish lilt in his voice was taking everything it took for Keith to keep his composure.   
  
“Lance, those are called ‘toes’.” Keith knelt beside him, ushering Lance to bring his now feet, out of the water. “Alright, now we put on clothes, Lance.” Lance turned to Keith, eyeing at the clothes that was set on the floor beside him. With a corner of the towel still covering his now human private parts, Keith thoroughly dried his feet and legs.   
  
“Wait, what is all this?” Lance asked, grabbing at a blue shirt. Keith chuckled.   
  
“Clothes.” Keith grabbed the boxers that were sitting messily aside the shorts.   
  
“Thanks, genius.” Lance deadpanned. “I mean, this and this?” He grabbed the shorts and pointed to the boxers in Keith’s hands.   
  
“That’s the rest of the costume, merboy.” Lance grumbled softly at Keith’s retort. “Okay, legs through here.” Keith put his hands to hold the waistband open for him to fit his legs through.   
  
“Do they go in one or, one in each, or?”   
  
“Oh, my god, Lance, just put one in here and the other in here.” Keith motioned with his hands.   
  
Lance followed orders and put his legs through, Keith trying to shimmy them up his legs. Lance’s legs seemed a lot longer than his own. When the fabric of the boxers touched the towel, Keith pulled back his hands.   
  
“Alright, you’re going to have to pull the rest up on your own. Do you need help to get up?” Keith asked.   
  
Lance looked down at himself and with minimal effort, tried to push himself up. He looked up at Keith with a weak chuckle. “I think I’m going to need some assistance.” He admitted softly.   
  
Keith sighed quietly and stood, going behind him and looping his arms under Lance, slowly helping him up. “Plant your feet firmly on the ground and push up with your legs. You may be a bit wobbly at first, but I’ve got you if you slip.”   
  
Lance nodded and planted his feet down on the cement. It was cool from the water he left behind, but it was still warm on his heels from the sun shining down on it all day. He pushed up and his legs did wobble like Keith said. _God, it was hard to stand and have legs._ Lance stood and he pulled up the rest of the undergarment, before looking back at Keith. Well… Looked down.   
  
“You’re… Taller than I expected.” Keith cleared his throat and Lance absolutely beamed. “You say one word and I will let you go.”   
  
Lance giggled quietly to himself and rose his hands up in defeat. “My lips are sealed.”   
  
“Yeah, they better be.” Keith looked down at the clothes that was on the floor. “So, I’m going to let you go, just so I can grab the rest of your clothes.” He slowly started to release one of his hands on Lance and Lance stiffened slightly. “You’re going to be fine.” Keith reassured as he leaned down to grab the shorts.   
  
“Jeez,” Lance whined. “How do you manage to keep your balance on your feet?”   
  
Keith straightened and supported Lance as he started to lean backwards. “It takes like a year of practice, trust me.”   
  
“A year?” Lance sputtered. “I don’t have a day, very much less a year.” He frowned.   
  
“You have 72 hours.” Both of them looked towards Allura, who was flipping through her weathered book.   
  
“Wait, how long do I have?” Lance asked.   
  
“72 hours. Three days.” She reiterated.   
  
Lance blinked. “Why?”   
  
Allura sighed. “I look at you and see myself. Curious and full of life. What kind of person would I be if I only gave you human legs long enough to take you back to shore?” She shook her head. “You should get your own taste of humanity.”   
  
“Three days…” Lance gasped softly.   
  
“Wait a minute, three days?” Keith asked. “Where is he going to stay for three days? He can’t just stay in the pool anymore.”   
  
“I’ll give him a room. I can get a room on your floor and put it ‘out of service’, so that way you two won’t be too far away from each other.” Allura closed her spell book and stood. “You’ve got three days, don’t you Keith?” Lance immediately looked to Keith, his blue eyes shining in the moonlight.   
  
How was he supposed to say ‘no’ to those sparkling eyes? “Yeah, I’ve got three days.” Keith sighed. Lance could have jumped giddily, but he didn’t trust his own feet yet. “But for now, let’s finish getting you dressed! You can’t walk out of here unless you're fully clothed.”   
  
Allura excused herself, going back to the hotel to fix arrangements for Lance. Meanwhile, Keith was still assisting Lance on putting on his shorts.   
  
“You’re like a toddler trying to put clothes on,” Keith groaned. “Sit.” He ordered.   
  
They had already tried one way; Lance holding Keith’s shoulders while Keith held the waistband for him. Lance’s accuracy in putting a foot into a hole was as accurate as a drunk trying to pass the ‘walk in a straight line’ test. Now, Lance was sitting at the end of the lounge chair, Keith kneeling and taking hold of Lance’s ankles, putting each foot through the short hole and pulling it up to the bend of his knees.   
  
“Stand.” Lance stood, holding onto Keith’s shoulders for support. Keith finished pulling up the shorts, noticing how much smaller they looked on Lance rather when they did on him. Who knew that this merboy turned human would have been taller than him?   
  
Lance was able to put his shirt on by himself, humming contently at the fact that the scales on his shoulders weren’t cutting into the material. But eventually, that happiness turned into discomfort.   
  
“Why do you have to wear so many layers? Why is it so itchy?” Lance kept rubbing his arms, where the sleeves would end, fidgeting with the waistband that gripped at his hips.   
  
“That’s probably all your nerve endings going haywire because of the material on you. Your body isn’t used to it; you will get used to it soon.” Keith went over to him and helped him stand, starting to make their way towards the hotel.   
  
It was _adorable_ , to say the least. It’s like Lance was a toddler. Seeing him hesitantly lift a foot and step forward. They toddled out of the pool gates before they met with Allura again.   
  
“I’ve got Lance in the room right across the hall from you. That way he won’t be too far from you to keep an eye on him.” Allura handed Keith two key cards, Keith taking them and putting them into his back pocket. “If you need anything, just let me know. I’ll be around.”   
  
“Thanks, Allura.” Lance smiled.   
  
Allura looked at him, putting her wrist to her hip. “Stay out of trouble, won’t you?”   
  
“No promises,” Lance giggled. Allura narrowed his gaze at him.   
  
“I’ll keep him out of trouble.” Keith reassured her. Allura rolled her eyes at Lance and motioned them to continue their trek into the hotel.   
  
The trek upstairs was longer than usual – Keith supporting Lance so he wouldn’t fall over and Lance gasping at the feel of carpet in between his toes. Going into the elevator – the bucking start of the elevator carriage and Lance’s tightened grip on Keith’s sleeve. Once they made it inside Lance’s room, a one bedroom suite, Lance laid on the couch, sighing deeply and contently.   
  
“ _Dios mío, todo me duele_!” Lance sat, rubbing at his calves.   
  
“You speak a different language?” Keith asked, turning on a couple of the lights. “Is that a special mermaid language or something?”   
  
Lance chuckled, laying back down. “It’s Spanish. Have you ever heard Spanish before?”   
  
“Oh, Spanish?” Keith plopped down on the couch, an arm’s length away from Lance. “Yeah, Spanish is a common language around here, actually.”   
  
Lance brightened. “Really? They speak Spanish on land?”   
  
“Oh sure, there’s a multitude of languages here. We can wander around the shopping district tomorrow and we can stop by the Latin-American shops.” Keith suggested, watching as Lance rubbed his legs.   
  
“That would be awesome, I’d love to.” He smiled.   
  
Keith couldn’t contain his smile as well. Despite the being nearly five in the morning, Lance was still a ray of sunshine in the darkness. Still, that didn’t stop the sleep from catching up to Keith.   
  
Keith yawned, stretching slightly. “I wish I could keep you more company, but I kinda have to go to bed.”   
  
Lance frowned slightly. “So soon?”   
  
Keith chuckled, standing. “It’s five in the morning. Sunrise is going to be in an hour and Shiro won’t let me sleep in past eleven.” He watched as Lance tilted his head to the side curiously.   
  
“Who’s Shiro?” He questioned.   
  
“Shiro’s the guy I’m staying here with.”   
  
“Is he your partner?”   
  
Keith’s cheeks burned up. “No, no!” He cleared his throat. “He’s more like a big brother to me. We came to spend our vacation here.”   
  
Lance watched the color rise in Keith’s cheeks. His skin was pale and he really liked the way the rosy color settled on his cheeks as he explained. Lance withheld his smile and nodded. “Well then, I won’t keep you any longer.” He watched as Keith stood and Lance looked around the room. This room was a lot more different than his cave. “Uh, Keith, before you go?”   
  
“Yeah?” Keith was already at the door, pulling it open.   
  
“Where do I sleep?” Lance asked, pushing himself to stand carefully.   
  
Keith watched in amusement as he stood, closing the door and crossing the room to offer aid, just in case. “There’s a bed past that door right there. Can you follow me?” Keith started to take a couple steps backwards, his palms open to catch him.   
  
“I think so.” Lance started to take baby steps towards Keith, watching his feet so he wouldn’t trip over them. A couple baby steps later, Lance was making his way slowly towards the bedroom.   
  
“You’re doing great.” Keith encouraged and Lance smiled, his fingers grazing the wall to keep his balance up.   
  
The two of them made it to the door and Keith opened the door for him, revealing the bedroom; A king sized bed, neatly made with fluffy pillows and blankets. Lance gasped softly and Keith motioned him to go for it. Lance nodded and made a jump onto the bed, giggling as he bounced in the plush material.   
  
“This is so much softer than my bed at home!” Lance’s voice was muffled by the pillows, feeling his body slowly sinking into the comfortable bed.   
  
“C’mon.” Keith motioned him to roll off the bed and he did, watching as Keith undid the bed slightly, to open the covers for Lance. “In you go.”   
  
Lance nodded and climbed into the bed, Keith tucking him in. It was a little bit like taking care of a cousin or a sibling, except this cousin/sibling was too good looking and alluring for their own good, and the worst part was that _they didn’t even know it_.   
  
“Thank you, for helping me out with this, Keith. I’m sorry to put such a burden on you, taking care of me.” Lance hadn’t thought about it before, but didn’t Keith say that he was here on vacation? Wouldn’t taking care of him ruin Keith’s vacation?   
  
Keith shook his head. “This has been the most exciting thing I’ve ever experienced on a vacation.” He admitted. “So really, I don’t mind watching over you. It will be fun.” Keith smiled.   
  
Lance felt the tips of his ears heat up. He touched the smooth pieces of skin that replaced the gills he used to have, trying to cool himself off. “Well, good night.” His voice with soft and laced with sleep, making Keith shiver internally.   
  
“Good night, Lance.”

**Author's Note:**

> So so, if you have any questions regarding the spanish, you're more than welcome to ask!


End file.
